Automatic closing device for fire-doors.



A. G. ELVIN & F. W. MARTIN. AUTOMATTC CLOSING DEVICE FOR FIRE'DOORS.APPLICATION FILED OCT. 26. 1914.

Patented Apr. 30, 1918.

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' nmmmW" A. G. ELVIN & F. W. MARTIN.

AUTOMATIC CLOSING DEVICE FOR FIRE DOORS.

. APPLICATION FILED 00126, 1914.

1,264,166. Patented Apr. 80, 1918.

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W' I 5% ATTOR rs the United States, and residents, respechis foot on thepedal.

unrrnn sTATas PATENT orrron.

ALBERT e. ELVIN, or SOMERVILLE, NEW J RSEY, AND FREDERICK w. MARTIN orNEW YORK, N. Y.; SAID MARTIN ASSIGNOR T0 SAID ELvIN.

AUTOMATIC CLOSING nnvicn ron FIRE-DOORS.-

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr. 30, 1918.

' Application filed October 26, 1914. Serial No. 868,611.

To all eohom it may ooncern."

Be 1t known that we, ALBERT 3r. .EL V1N and FREDERICK IV. MARTIN, bothcitizens of tively, of Somerville, in the county of Somerset and Stateof New Jersey, and of the borough of Manhattan, in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvementin Automatic Closing Devices for Fire-Doors, of which improvement thefollowing is a specification. This invention relates to fire door'appara tus operated by fluid pressure and has for its principal objectto provide neans for au-. tomatically effecting a positive closing of'the fire door within a-predetermined interval after the=same has beenopened, and

thereby prevent the fireman fromholding I When the; arm, 23, is raisedbythe fireman for the purpose of opening the furnace the door open for alonger period.

In this fire door apparatus as used on locomotives, the fluid pressuremotor for actuating. the doors is usually controlled by a valve operatedby a pedal device, and it has which tends to cool the fire and chill thewater heating surfaces. With our improvement this is positivelyprevented, as the door will be promptly closed after a predeterminedtime even though the fireman retains In the accompanying drawings:Figure 1 is a front elevation of one form of fire ,door

-' apparatus embodying our improvement;

Fig. 2, an end elevation of the same;'Fig. 3, a vertical section of themotor; Fig. 4, a ver-. tical section illustrating a modification;

Figs. 5 and 6, similar views showing other modifications in which thedoors close by gravity; and Fig. 7, a vertical section s'imi-V lar'toFig. 3, and showing. a further modifibeing connected to the piston, 9,movable in the horizontal cylinder, 10, of the motor;

Fluid under pressure, such as compressed air, is supplied from pipe, 11,to thevalve casing, 12, containing valves, 13 and 1 1, sup-' ply port,15, and exhaust port, 16 Port, 17, leads from valve, 14:, to theopposite end of the cylinder. The arm, 23, adapted to be connected witha pedal device (not shown) operated by the foot of the fireman, engagesthe end of the stem, 13*, of the valve, 13, for actuating the same. Thisstem, 13% also has a small groove, 18, adapted to register with theexhaust port, 16, in the open position of the valve. The stem, 14, ofvalve, 14, is provided'with grooves, 19 and 20, and is operated by arod, 21, having an inclined face at one end,-and a head at the oppositeend located in a recess in the piston, 9, and adapted'to engagetheplate, 22, on the'piston head when near the outer .end of its stroke.

door, the valve, 13, is 'opened to admit fluid through port, 15, andaround groove, 19, in

stem, 14*,into the cylinder, thereby moving I the piston, 9, through itsoutward traverse, and opening the door. In this position of the valvestem, 13 the small groove, 18,

communicates 'with the exhaust port, 16,.

which is,-however, closed by the stem, 14, thereby preventing escape offluid. As the piston, 9, approaches the end-of. its traverse, the rod,21, is actuated to raise the valve, 1 1, and stem, 14, to the positionin which port, 17, is open to the supply,.port, 15, is closed, andgroove, 20, communicates with the port, 16. Fluid is thus admittedthrough port, 17 to the opposite end ofthe cylinder to return the pistonto the closed position, but the capacity of the exhaust port, 16, isrestricted by the small groove, 18, in stem, 13*,whereby the fluid firstadmitted to the front end of the cylinder 'es capes very slowly, therebyretarding the closing movement of the piston. In this manner the, pistonwill be automatically returned to its inner position, and the doorclosed in a predetermined time even-though the fireman retains his footon the pedal with the valve,-13, open If he should at anytime releasethe pedal and drop valve, 13, to'its closed position, the exhaust port,16, would be fully opened, and the piston and door would immediately bereturned to to the closed position. When the piston is returned to itsinner position, the rod, 2 actuated to permit the stem, 14, to dr' closethe valve, 14. This again closes the port, 17, and the exhaust port, 16,and opens the supply port, 15. There is no further movement, however, asthe supply port remains closed by valve, 13, until the pedal arm, 23, isagain operated. The period of time required for the automatic closing ofthe door depends upon the capacity of the restricted groove, 18, invalve stem, 13 and this may be readily fixed to suit differentconditions.

Asshown in Fig. 4, the improvement is applied in connection with a motorof the vertical type having a cylinder, 10, .con-

taining piston, 9 connected to the arms of a pair of doors, 6 pivoted toswing laterally and vertically. A valve, 24, operated by a plunger, 25,and spring, 26, is provided for controlling the admission port, 27,leading from a supply pipe, 11, into the cylinder. A port, 28, admitsfluid from the cylinder into the plunger chamber when the piston ismoved downward to the end of its stroke, and the piston is provided witha groove, 29, for establishing communication from the port, 28, to theexhaust port, 30, when in its upper or closed position.

When the fireman actuates the manual device for opening the door, fluidis admitted through pipe, l1,and port, 27, into the cylinder whereit'acts upon the upper face cf'the' piston, 9 forcing the same downwardand swinging the doors to the open position. When the piston reachesthelower end of its traverse, the port, 28, is u'ncovered, therebyadmitting fluid into the chamber beneath the plunger, 25, which then;moves the valve. '24, to close the port, 27.

With the supply cut ofl', the fluid under pres sure in the cylinderbegins to leak away around the'packing rings and through the smallescape port, 30, if the same is open, so that the'pressure continues todiminish gradually until it is overcome by the weight of the doors,whereupon said doorsdescend slowly by gravity and the piston rises inthe cylinder. At the end of a predetermined period of time, the door isthus auto matically closed and the piston returned When the piston.

to its upper position.

' reaches its upper position the pressure is released from the chamberbeneath the plunger, 25, and the spring, 26, moves the to that ofFig. 3,is provided for controlling the admission of fluid from the sup ply, 11,to port, 15, leading into the cylin- A release port, 35, is alsoprovided for the opposite end of the cylinder, and is open when thevalve, 34, is closed.

When the valve, 13, is raised by the pedal device, ports, 16 and 37, areclosed and fluid is admitted through port, l5, into the cylinder whereit acts upon the piston, 9", moving the same to the opposite end of thecylinder and opening the doors. At the same time fluid begins feedingthrough the restricted port, 38, and passage, 33, into the expansionchamber, 31. If the pedal device he released at this time, the door willpromptly closeas the fluid is then instantly exhausted through ports, 16and 37, and the doors will swing downward by gravity; but

'it the pedal is retained in its open position with the valve, 13,raised, the fluid pressure in the chamber, 31, acting on the diaphragm,

.32, rises, in a-short predetermined period -of.time, to a pointsuflicient to open the valve, 34, and'close exhaust port, 35. Fluid isthen admitted through port, 36, to theopposite end of the cylinder, andas the piston is thus balanced as to fluid pressure, the doors descendby gravity to closed position, thereby also returning the piston to itsformer position from which it will not again be moved until the valve,13, is first closed and then reopened. Upon closing the valve,

l3, t-he fluid is immediately released from the chamber, 31, throughpassage, 33,'and exhaust port, 37. .Thevalve, 34, then closes and theexhaust port, 35, "opens so that the fluid is promptly released fromboth ends of the cylinder, and there will be no movement of the piston.

A simpler construction is shown in Fig. 6,,wherein the valves, 14 and34, are dispensed with, and the cylinder, 10, is provided with by-passports, 40 and 41, the

.. former" being normally closed by the piston,

9 but adapted to open after the piston makes a prelimlnary movementtoward open position, and the latter. port, 41, being'closed by thepiston in all positions except the normal closed position, as shown inFig. 6, in which communication is established around the piston. Thepedal device 23 and valve 13" for controlling the admission of fluidfrom pipe, 11, through port, 15, into the cylinder and the exhaust ofthe same there from, may be located at a distance from the,

the piston, 9 moves outward tooperate the gears 8", and open the doors.The port, 41, is su ciently small to prevent the pressure accumulatingat the rear of the piston as rapidly as the same is admitted throughport, 15; this insures a prompt movement of the piston which closes theport, 41, and shortly thereafter opens the by-passport, 40, leading tothe extreme rearend of the cylinder. The port, 40, is also ofsmallcapacity and does not prevent the complete traverse of the pistonto its open position, but it permits the fluid to pass slowly to theopposite side of the piston, thereby cushioning its movement, and thenafter a short interval allowing the pressures to equalize.

The doors will then descend by gravity to the closed position, andreturn the piston to the otherend of the cylinder in which position theport, 40, is closed while the bypass,

41, is open around the piston to permit the prompt release of pressurefrom the rear end of the cylinder as soon as the pedal device isreleased and the fluid exhausted from the front end of the cylinder. Theapparatus is then in condition for the next opensing operation wheneverthe pedal is actuated phere, but in such location as'to be covered.

for that purpose.

from the rear of the'piston to the atmosbythe piston when it firststarts to move outward. This insures the prompt release of the fluid inthe rearof the piston, and

"may be employed either with or without the by-pass port, 41'.

The construction shown in Fig. 7 is similar to that of Fig. 3, exceptthat the intermediate valve, 21*, is connected directly to ,the valverod, 21, actuated by the striking plate, 22, on the piston, 9, while thevalve, 144, for admitting fluid to'the opposite side of the differentialpiston is operated directly by the piston through the'engagement withthe inclined surface, 9; The valve, 21', is

, provided with a groove, 19', for controlling the inlet port, 15, and acavity, 20", for connecting the cylinder port to the restricted exhaustport, 16*, to the atmosphere when the piston reaches the open position.To

prevent the cylindrical valve, 21 from turning in its chamber, a springactuated detent, 40, may be employed, engaging a groove in the valve.This also serves to hold .the valve in position and prevent the samefrom falling into the cylinder when the piston moves downward and theshoulder of the valveis not supported by the plate, 22, of the piston.

If desired, an additional escape port, 42, may be provided leading 1When the valve, 13, is raised from its seat, the exhaust port, 16,16, isclosed and fluid from the supply, 11, flows through the inlet port, 15,around groove, 19*, in valve, 21 and into the upper end of the cylinderwhere it acts upon the large face of difler ential piston, 9, to movethe same downward and open the door or doors, as will be readilyunderstood, there being any suitable form of connections, such as shownin Fig. a, for instance, between the piston and said doors. As thepiston moves downward, the

inclined surface, 9, engages and opens the valve, 14, thereby admittingfluid-from the source of supply to the opposite or smallerv area of' thepiston. As the piston. approaches'the lower end of its stroke, with thedoors fully open, thehe'ad of the valve rodis engaged by the plate, 22,of the piston, and the valve, 21, is moved downward to its lowerposition in which the inlet port, 15,

is cut ofl' and the cylinder is put into communication with the smallescape port, 16",.

through the cavity, 20 in the valve. The fluid from the upper end of thecylinder then escapes slowly, and the pressure reduces sufficiently in apredeterminedshort period of time, so as to be overcome by the pressureupon the opposite or smaller face of the piston. The piston then movesupward the upper endof its stroke, the plate, 22, en-

and the doors close. 5 As the. piston reaches gages the shoulder of thevalve, 21*, and re-.

turns the same to its upper position, in which the escape port, is cutoff and the groove, 19*, again registers with the inlet port, 15. Thevalve, 14 will also be closed when the piston is in this position. Iftheadmission valve, 13, is still heldopen, fluid will again pass intotheupper end of the cylinder, and the operation will be repeated. When,however, the fireman operates the door device in the usual and propermanner by promptly releasing the pedal after the delivery of eachshovelful of coal, the valve,

13,'immediately dro s to its seat, thereby short interval of time, eventhough the fireman retains' the pedal device open, thereby insuringsingle shovel firing, orthe delivery of but one shovel of fuel into thefurnace at each opening and closing of the door. With the constructionshown in Figs. 5 and 6, after the door has been automatically closed,the same will remain closed until the pedal device is again operated,but 'in the other modifications the door will again open and theoperation will be repeated if the pedal device is held down.

Having now described our invention, What We claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is: I

In a'firedoor apparatus the combination of a door, a fluid pressuremotor therefor, a valve for controlling the admission of fluid to saidmotor to open-the door and for controlling the exhaust therefrom toclose the door, a manual device for actuing of the admission valve andWhile the.

ating said valve, and means operating automatlcally to provide forareturn movement of the motor and a closing of the door at apredetermined timeinterval after the openmanual device remains in itsopen-position.

2. Ina fire door apparatus, the combination of a door, a cylinder, apiston mechanically connected to the door, a manually o erated valvedevice for controlling the a mission 61 fluid to the cylinder to openthe door and for controlling the exhaust from the cylinder to close thedoor, and means controlling the exhaust from said cylinder a theadmission of fluid to the cylinder at one side of the piston to open thedoor, and for to close the door,, and means controlled by the movementof the plston' for admitting fluid to the opposite side of said pistonto.

provide for. a return movement of the piston and a closing of the doorat a predetermined time interval after the opening of the manual valveand While the same remains open.

4. In a fire door apparatus, the combination of a door, a cylinder, apiston therein mechanically connected to the door, a man ually operatedvalve device for controlling the admission of fluid to the cylinder atone side of the piston to open the door, and for controlling the exhaustfrom said cylinder to close the door, and a restricted by-pass portcontrolled by ton for admitting fluid from one side of the piston to theother to provide fora return movement of the same and a closing of thethe movement of the pis-' door at a predetermined time interval afterthe opening of the manual valve.

5. In a fire door apparatus, the combination of a door, acylinder, apiston therein mechanically connected to the door, a manually operatedvalve device for controlling the admission of fluid to the cylinder atone side of the piston to open the door, and for controlling the exhaustfrom said cylinder to'close the door, a'restricted by-pass portcontrolled by the movement of the piston .for admitting fluid from oneside of the piston to the other to provide for a return movement of thesame and a closing of the door at a'predetermined time interval afterthe'opening of the manual valve, and an ex- F 'haust port alsocontrolled by the piston for releasing fluid from the opposite end ofthecylinder when the door is closed.

ALBERT G. ELVIN. FREDERICK 'MARTIN. Witnesses: i

C. L. Wnvns, EMILY L. MYERS.

